Rocki Strader, Ohio State

The ALAO Executive Board held its Annual Leadership Retreat on July 12-13 marking several transitions in our leadership.

We noted the service of those who completed their terms on the Board:  Karen Wilhoit (Past President); Angel Gondek (Membership Chair); Ione Damasco and  Stephena Harmony (Board Members at Large); Carolyn Sanders and Kathy Yoder (Curriculum Materials Center Interest Group co-chairs); Kathy Burns (Support Staff Interest Group co-chair); Kiffany Francis (Technical, Electronic and Digital Services Interest Group co-chair); Kristen Kirchgesler (Distance Learning Interest Group co-chair); and Ken Burhanna (Diversity Committee Chair).

At the same time, we welcomed new leaders to the Board: Brian Hickam (Vice-President/President-Elect); Pat Wood (Membership Chair); Mark Eddy, Angel Gondek, and Krista McDonald (Board Members at Large); Stephanie Bange and Linda Scott (Curriculum Materials Center Interest Group co-chairs); David Allen (Support Staff Interest Group co-chair); Elias Tzoc Caniz (Technical, Electronic and Digital Services Interest Group co-chair); Kathleen Pickens-French (Distance Learning Interest Group co-chair); and Diane Kolosionek (Diversity Committee Chair).

It was a privilege to work with all these folks through the retreat, and I look forward to working with the new Board through the coming year.  We are facing several challenges and opportunities:

One such challenge will be working through changes happening with our current fiscal agent, SWON Libraries, as they reorganize over the next several months.  This is the second such challenge in the last two years.  Part of ALAO’s response is to begin the process of becoming an incorporated non-profit organization (but still remaining a chapter of ACRL).

I would like to use this opportunity to solicit the general ALAO membership for interest in the Research and Publications Committee.  This committee’s charge includes (but is not limited to) awarding a grant of up to $500 annually, and maintaining awareness of other grants and awards that may be of interest to ALAO members.  If you are interested, please contact Rocki Strader, Brian Hickam, or Mark Eddy.

We continue to follow through on moving our membership database to a new software platform.  Most of this is in place.  We used the new system, Wild Apricot, for this spring’s election.  All is on track for handling online registrations for this year’s conference and for migrating our web content.

Speaking of the conference:  “Academic Libraries: Now and Tomorrow,” ALAO’s 36th Annual Conference, will be held on October 29, 2010, at the Crowne Plaza Columbus North, Columbus, Ohio.

My thanks to everyone who has served ALAO on the Board, the Program Committee (aka Conference Planning), and committees and interest groups as we move into a new year.  I hope you and others will seek out these opportunities with ALAO in the future.  We are in challenging and exciting times, and ALAO is well positioned to move forward and meet them, as our conference theme says, “now and tomorrow!”